The National Association of School Nurses Promotes NDEP’s School Guide and Other
Resources via Workshops and Online Outreach

Background

The mission of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) is to advance the
specialty practice of school nursing to improve the health and academic success
of all students. As a program partner, NASN regularly promotes NDEP offerings to
its network of more than 15,000 members, reaching school nurses, parents, and members
of the school community across the country with important diabetes information.
This year, NASN continued to support NDEP by highlighting program offerings through
a variety of communication channels, including conferences and workshops, the NASN
website, and the NASN Weekly Digest.

Outreach and Promotions

NASN was a critical partner in helping NDEP update and revise the Helping the Student
with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel (School Guide) released in 2010
and has found multiple ways to promote this resource to school health professionals
year round. Recently, NASN invited Joanne Gallivan, NDEP Director, and Martha Funnell,
Former NDEP Chair, to present at the NASN 44th Annual Conference on “Self-Directed
Behavior Change: Resources to Improve Diabetes Outcomes at School” to help students
who have or are at risk for diabetes make changes in behavior. NASN also distributed
more than 50 School Guide binders to nurses at a pre-conference program.

Additionally, NASN distributed 108 copies of NDEP’s School Guide and Teen Tip Sheets
at two “Helping Administer to the Needs of the Student with Diabetes in School”
(H.A.N.D.S.℠) workshops, a continuing education program developed by the association
to educate school nurses about effective diabetes management for students. NASN
also highlights the School Guide as a resource on the www.NASN.org website using
the promotional web button.

In addition to promoting the School Guide, NASN frequently includes information
about NDEP’s resources in their e-newsletter, the NASN Weekly Digest, which reaches
more than 30,000 readers. Using content from NDEP’s News & Notes e-newsletter, NASN
is able to quickly adapt relevant NDEP messages to share with readers. For example,
NASN highlighted NDEP’s behavior change resources, such as the New Year’s Resolution
Maker, Make a Plan,
Just One Step, and
Diabetes HealthSense resources for teachers
and school health professionals.

For more information about these activities, contact Sarah Butler at
sbutler@nasn.org, or click here to learn how you can promote NDEP’s School
Guide and other resources to engage youth to prevent and manage their diabetes.

The Washington Association of Community & Migrant Health Centers Uses NDEP Resources to Host a Workshop in Support of National Minority Health Month

Outreach and Promotions

In observance of National Minority Health Month in April, the Washington Association of Community & Migrant Health Centers, through the Washington Community Health Workers/Promotores Network (WCHWN), coordinated and co-sponsored a “7th Annual Spring Intensive Training for Health Promoters and Community Health Workers.”

The 2 1/2 day event – which included various workshops, presentations, and activities – provided training on core competencies and skills promotoras need to effectively do their job, including organization, documentation, evaluation, and coordination skills. There was also training to address emergency preparedness, labor rights and health insurance options in Washington State, and diabetes prevention. During these trainings, attendees learned basic but core information about how to communicate what they learned to the communities, and where to get additional information and assistance.

Additionally, Francisco Arias-Reyes, a Health Services Consultant at the Washington State Department of Health Heart, Stroke, and Diabetes Program, conducted an interactive workshop using NDEP’s The Road to Health Toolkit, which addresses prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Evaluation & Lessons Learned

The event attracted a diverse group of 68 community leaders from seven community health centers, one hospital, three government agencies, and 10 non-profit organizations. Participants included health workers, health promoters, coordinators, agricultural workers, outreach workers, and health educators.

Following the webinar featuring NDEP’s Do it for them! But for you too. fotonovela, attendees read the story and shared their comments about the resource and how they plan to use it in the future. Many people commented that the resource is easy to understand, teaches people how to care for their community, family, friends, and provides ideas for how to teach. Attendees also responded positively to The Road to Health Toolkit workshop. Many people expressed that the toolkit was very useful and that they would share with friends, family and the community.

Some lessons learned from this event include:

Ensure that participants can apply what they have learned. A balance between theory and practice can be very effective.

Educational technology training webinars can be very effective; however, it is better in person.

To ensure success, these workshops must be planned and designed very carefully. It was worth the effort planning The Road to Health workshop and the webinar-premier of the new NDEP fotonovela.

A successful implementation begins and ends with a successful partnership!

To help support and guide partners in their promotional efforts, the NDEP has transformed its “Promotions At-A-Glance” PDF document into a “What is NDEP Promoting This Quarter?” webpage located in the Resources section of the NDEP website.

This new page serves as a place for partners to quickly and easily see what NDEP is promoting each quarter and find NDEP offerings to support those quarterly promotional activities.

This quarter, NDEP will be promoting the theme “Engaging youth to prevent and manage their diabetes” to reach young adults with and at risk for diabetes (and their families) with important information about managing their diabetes or lowering their risk.

Explore the new page and begin finding resources that you can use to support the third quarter theme.

Maureen Sullivan-Tevault Promotes NDEP Messages and Resources on Her Online Radio Program

Background

Maureen Sullivan-Tevault, R.N., C.E.N., C.D.E., is a long-time partner of the National
Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) and regularly participates in the Program’s promotional
activities. In addition to her health-related credentials, Maureen is also a stand
up comic. She marries her interest and expertise in the two fields in the online
radio show she co-hosts with her husband, Mike Tevault, R.N., called, The Health
and Humor Hour. The program uses light-hearted humor to raise awareness of important
health issues and to share critical health information. Maureen recently promoted
the NDEP on the program and actively engaged NDEP via social media as well.

Outreach and Promotions

In March, Maureen focused her program on Diabetes Alert Day. During the hour-long
show, Maureen engaged her audience with key NDEP messages to raise awareness and
educate viewers about diabetes, diabetes risk factors, steps people can take to
delay or prevent type 2 diabetes, and local and national diabetes resources. In
supporting NDEP, Maureen promoted the Diabetes Risk Test, NDEP website, and NDEP
Facebook page. NDEP’s public service announcements (PSAs) were also displayed on
the radio set for online viewers to see. In addition to promoting NDEP resources,
Maureen broadcasted an audio clip featuring an interview with NDEP Chair, Dr. John
Buse, speaking about Diabetes Alert Day and the importance of knowing your risk
for type 2 diabetes.

Maureen used social media to promote the NDEP and the diabetes-focused program on
her Twitter page.
To date, there have been more than 600 views to Maureen’s show
focusing on Diabetes Alert Day. To learn more about using online and social media
tools to promote your work with the NDEP, check out the Program’s
social media web page.

Extra, Extra! New Bonus! Join the NDEP Road to Health Implementers Community! This learning community is for people who use the Road to Health Toolkit as a resource to manage diabetes prevention activities. Find and share lessons learned, tools, and resources to support the implementation of the toolkit.

For more information about the Road to Health Evaluation Guide or to join the Road to Health Implementers community, contact Betsy Rodríguez, CDC/NDEP Deputy Director at bjr6@cdc.gov.